Grade 6 student Ruby Ferris won the second-place medal, a $100 prize and a certificate in the junior pision for her speech
Social Media – The Good, The Bad, The Effect it is Having on Your World
. Her four-minute address discussed how the world of social media is keeping families connected, and helping in fundraising for worthy causes, but also has its misuses such as cyberbullying.

"At the beginning, I really wasn’t going to do a speech but my dad convinced me,” she said of the May 7 competition in London. “He told me even if I didn’t get past the first (school) level it would be a good experience for me. I wasn’t really expecting to get this far, but I did, and it was pretty cool.”

While she is already comfortable in front of a crowd – after serving as one of two Simbas in the school play
The Lion King
– the experience of competing at provincials was another confidence booster.

The daughter of Jennifer Burns and Michael Ferris of Brockville says she hopes to continue competing in the public speaking contest in future years.